Legends: Battles and Quests

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King Arthur would have been just another king if he was content to just sit at home. And Rome would never have been founded if Remus had won the famous battle instead of his brother. From the epic defeat of the Minotaur to the fierce legends of the Inca, battles and quests are the lifeblood of mythology, and this collection thrusts readers right into the heart of some of the best (and bloodiest) adventure stories from around the world.

Anthony Horowitz is a prolific writer for film, theatre and television, but he is best loved for his brilliant children's stories, which include the internationally best-selling series about teenage MI6 agent Alex Rider. He lives in London and has two teenage sons.

The MinotaurThere was a time when Athens was not themajor city that it is today, but a small townperched on the edge of a cliff some threemiles from the sea. King Aegeus was onthe throne and he was a good ruler. Therewere no wars, there was plenty of foodto go round and no plagues or monstersinhabited the land.And yet, once every seven years, somethingstrange would happen. There would beno alarm, no signal, but suddenly the streetswould empty. Men and women would hurryhome, avoiding each other’s eyes, gatheringup their children and taking them indoors. Itwould seem as if Athens had been deserted.And inside their homes, families would sittogether, hiding in the shadows, and nobodywould speak.A stranger, walking through the town,might think that some terrible catastrophehad just occurred. And yet there would beno sign of any damage, like that caused byan earthquake or a fire. The streets wouldbe clean and orderly, even if all the shopswere closed for business. Trees carrying thefirst spring blossoms would surround him ifhe strolled into the parks.A mystery.Standing there, the stranger might feel acold wind whisper through the streets and,if he listened carefully, he might just be ableto hear what it was saying.‘Minos is coming. Minos will soon behere . . . ’And hearing that, he would understand.He would turn and hurry out of this accursedplace, leaving the wretched peopleto their fate. Throughout Ancient Greeceeveryone knew what had happened to theson of King Minos and the cruel revengethat he had demanded. They also knew theterrible secret that lay hidden deep underneathhis palace.But even the breeze was too afraid tospeak that name. It would rush through thestreets saying nothing more, twisting roundthe corners as if it too was in a hurry to getaway.The Birth of the MinotaurMinos was the king of Crete, the Island ofthe Hundred Cities. He was one of the mostpowerful sovereigns in the world and hisisland was one of the most magnificent. Itsharbour was huge, built to hold a hundredships and surrounded by towering wallsand guarded by turrets that were mannedtwenty-four hours a day. The capital –Knossos – was a mass of colour and life. TheCretan people, all too aware of their status,loved to wear expensive clothes and to eatthe most luxurious food, brought to themfrom the furthest corners of the civilizedworld. The market stalls, jammed togetherin the narrow streets, were always piledhigh with the finest goods, including silksand satins, exotic spices, ivory and jewels,rare parrots, performing monkeys andmuch, much more. While the sun shone,the buying and selling never stopped andeven at night, once the torches had been lit,dancers and fire-eaters, snake charmers andmagicians would come out to entertain thecrowds.And yet there was a darker side to Crete.And even Minos, for all his wealth andsuccess, could not escape from its shadow.The Minotaur. It was like a cancer beneaththe skin, the unpleasant truth that spoilseverything that is exposed to it. Minoswould have gladly emptied the marketsand thrown all the riches into the sea if hecould have got rid of it. And the worst of itwas – it was all his fault. If it hadn’t been forhis own greed and stupidity, the Minotaurwould never have existed. He had made onemistake. He had been paying for it eversince.This is how it had happened.Every year, for many years, Minos hadsacrificed the best bull from his herd toPoseidon. Crete depended on its sea powerand Poseidon was, of course, the god of thesea. One year, however, acting in a momentof madness, Minos had decided to holdback his best animal . . . a huge white bull,the like of which he had never seen before.From such a beast he could breed a wholeherd of prize cattle. It would be a completewaste to slaughter it and then burn its remainson an altar. Surely Poseidon wouldn’tnotice if he sacrificed another, slightly lessmagnificent bull in its place.That was what Minos thought, but of coursePoseidon did notice and his anger was asterrible as his revenge was strange and cruel.He left Minos untouched, but turned hispowers on the king’s wife, the young andinnocent Queen Pasiphaë, making her fall inlove with the white bull. Not knowing whatshe was doing, the queen stole away onestormy night to the stables and it was fromthis unnatural union that the Minotaur wasborn.Minotaur means, simply, Minos bull.King Minos and his wife looked after theugly creature for as long as they could, tryingto keep it away from prying eyes. Butthe moment it was strong enough to walk,the Minotaur broke free and left the palace.In the days that followed, it went berserk,destroying much of Crete and killing manyof its inhabitants. It was as if a psychopathicmurderer had arrived on the island. It didn’tkill for any other reason than because ithad to.Minos was filled with shame and horror.In desperation, he turned to the Oracleto find out what to do. He couldn’t kill thecreature. It was, after all, his wife’s child.But how could he deal with it? How couldhe avoid the terrible scandal that nowsurrounded him?As usual, the Oracle had all the answers.She told the king to build a labyrinth atKnossos in which to conceal both theMinotaur and his own unfortunate wife.The maze would be so complicated, with somany twists and turns, so many false startsand dead ends, that no man, once trappedinside it, would find his way out. Thetwo of them could remain there, safe andsecure. Minos would never see either ofthem again.Minos did what the Oracle had suggested.He commissioned his courtarchitect, a man called Daedalus, to do thework – and the maze was so fantastic thatseveral of the slaves who built it disappearedwithout trace. And that might havebeen the end of it. Minos might have continuedhis rule, alone and lonely, but a littlewiser about how to deal with the gods.However, a few months later, anotherevent took place that was once more goingto change his life. Minos had a son whomhe loved, a boy called Androgeus. Shortlyafter the Minotaur had been incarcerated,Androgeus set sail for the town of Athens totake part in the Pan-Athenian games, whichwere held there every five years. He was astrong, skilful athlete and he did well, winningseveral of the events outright. Soonhe found himself being cheered on as thefavourite of the crowd, much to the resentmentof the royal court and in particular thenephews of King Aegeus.These nephews were an unpleasant bunchwho spent their time fighting in the streetsand lounging around the palace. Now, jealousof the success of Androgeus, they layin ambush one evening after the games hadended and fell on him as he walked hometo his lodgings. Androgeus fought bravelybut he was heavily outnumbered. The gangkilled him and left his body in the road.When Minos heard of this he was besidehimself with grief and rage. At once heordered his fleet to set sail, and the nextday, when King Aegeus awoke, he found thetown surrounded. Fighting was impossible.The Cretan army completely encircled thetown; and the fleet itself, anchored in theshallows just off the coast, was larger thanthe whole of Athens. Aegeus had no choice.Kneeling before Minos, he surrendered himselfand his town to the Cretan king’s mercy.‘I come in search of my son’s assassins,’Minos said. ‘Yield them to me and I will leaveyou unharmed.’‘I can’t do that,’ King Aegeus replied. ‘I’msorry, great king. It was a miserable deedand I would gladly give you the killersif I knew who they were. But I don’t! Thecowards remain hidden. And so we must allsuffer for their crime.’‘And suffer you will,’ Minos said. Hethought for a moment, then came to aterrible decision. ‘This is my decree,’ he continued.‘I have lost a son. The sons and thedaughters of Athens will have to pay theprice. At the end of every Great Year, whichis to say, every seven years, you will sendme your seven bravest young men and yourseven most beautiful maidens. Do not askwhat will happen to them! All that matters isthat you will never see them again.‘This will be your tribute to me for thedeath of my eldest child. Fail, and Athenswill burn.’There was nothing King Aegeus could do.Every seven years, the fourteen Athenianswere chosen by lottery and taken away byship to Crete and an unknown death. And inCrete, while the colourful throng jostled inthe streets, the Minotaur stalked its victimsthrough the subterranean maze and killedthem to satisfy its lust for blood.

The MinotaurThere was a time when Athens was not themajor city that it is today, but a small townperched on the edge of a cliff some threemiles from the sea. King Aegeus was onthe throne and he was a good ruler. Therewere no wars, there was plenty of foodto go round and no plagues or monstersinhabited the land.And yet, once every seven years, somethingstrange would happen. There would beno alarm, no signal, but suddenly the streetswould empty. Men and women would hurryhome, avoiding each other's eyes, gatheringup their children and taking them indoors. Itwould seem as if Athens had been deserted.And inside their homes, families would sittogether, hiding in the shadows, and nobodywould speak.A stranger, walking through the town,might think that some terrible catastrophehad just occurred. And yet there would beno sign of any damage, like that caused byan earthquake or a fire. The streets wouldbe clean and orderly, even if all the shopswere closed for business. Trees carrying thefirst spring blossoms would surround him ifhe strolled into the parks.A mystery.Standing there, the stranger might feel acold wind whisper through the streets and,if he listened carefully, he might just be ableto hear what it was saying.'Minos is coming. Minos will soon behere . . . 'And hearing that, he would understand.He would turn and hurry out of this accursedplace, leaving the wretched peopleto their fate. Throughout Ancient Greeceeveryone knew what had happened to theson of King Minos and the cruel revengethat he had demanded. They also knew theterrible secret that lay hidden deep underneathhis palace.But even the breeze was too afraid tospeak that name. It would rush through thestreets saying nothing more, twisting roundthe corners as if it too was in a hurry to getaway.The Birth of the MinotaurMinos was the king of Crete, the Island ofthe Hundred Cities. He was one of the mostpowerful sovereigns in the world and hisisland was one of the most magnificent. Itsharbour was huge, built to hold a hundredships and surrounded by towering wallsand guarded by turrets that were mannedtwenty-four hours a day. The capital -Knossos - was a mass of colour and life. TheCretan people, all too aware of their status,loved to wear expensive clothes and to eatthe most luxurious food, brought to themfrom the furthest corners of the civilizedworld. The market stalls, jammed togetherin the narrow streets, were always piledhigh with the finest goods, including silksand satins, exotic spices, ivory and jewels,rare parrots, performing monkeys andmuch, much more. While the sun shone,the buying and selling never stopped andeven at night, once the torches had been lit,dancers and fire-eaters, snake charmers andmagicians would come out to entertain thecrowds.And yet there was a darker side to Crete.And even Minos, for all his wealth andsuccess, could not escape from its shadow.The Minotaur. It was like a cancer beneaththe skin, the unpleasant truth that spoilseverything that is exposed to it. Minoswould have gladly emptied the marketsand thrown all the riches into the sea if hecould have got rid of it. And the worst of itwas - it was all his fault. If it hadn't been forhis own greed and stupidity, the Minotaurwould never have existed. He had made onemistake. He had been paying for it eversince.This is how it had happened.Every year, for many years, Minos hadsacrificed the best bull from his herd toPoseidon. Crete depended on its sea powerand Poseidon was, of course, the god of thesea. One year, however, acting in a momentof madness, Minos had decided to holdback his best animal . . . a huge white bull,the like of which he had never seen before.From such a beast he could breed a wholeherd of prize cattle. It would be a completewaste to slaughter it and then burn its remainson an altar. Surely Poseidon wouldn'tnotice if he sacrificed another, slightly lessmagnificent bull in its place.That was what Minos thought, but of coursePoseidon did notice and his anger was asterrible as his revenge was strange and cruel.He left Minos untouched, but turned hispowers on the king's wife, the young andinnocent Queen Pasiphaë, making her fall inlove with the white bull. Not knowing whatshe was doing, the queen stole away onestormy night to the stables and it was fromthis unnatural union that the Minotaur wasborn.Minotaur means, simply, Minos bull.King Minos and his wife looked after theugly creature for as long as they could, tryingto keep it away from prying eyes. Butthe moment it was strong enough to walk,the Minotaur broke free and left the palace.In the days that followed, it went berserk,destroying much of Crete and killing manyof its inhabitants. It was as if a psychopathicmurderer had arrived on the island. It didn'tkill for any other reason than because ithad to.Minos was filled with shame and horror.In desperation, he turned to the Oracleto find out what to do. He couldn't kill thecreature. It was, after all, his wife's child.But how could he deal with it? How couldhe avoid the terrible scandal that nowsurrounded him?As usual, the Oracle had all the answers.She told the king to build a labyrinth atKnossos in which to conceal both theMinotaur and his own unfortunate wife.The maze would be so complicated, with somany twists and turns, so many false startsand dead ends, that no man, once trappedinside it, would find his way out. Thetwo of them could remain there, safe andsecure. Minos would never see either ofthem again.Minos did what the Oracle had suggested.He commissioned his courtarchitect, a man called Daedalus, to do thework - and the maze was so fantastic thatseveral of the slaves who built it disappearedwithout trace. And that might havebeen the end of it. Minos might have continuedhis rule, alone and lonely, but a littlewiser about how to deal with the gods.However, a few months later, anotherevent took place that was once more goingto change his life. Minos had a son whomhe loved, a boy called Androgeus. Shortlyafter the Minotaur had been incarcerated,Androgeus set sail for the town of Athens totake part in the Pan-Athenian games, whichwere held there every five years. He was astrong, skilful athlete and he did well, winningseveral of the events outright. Soonhe found himself being cheered on as thefavourite of the crowd, much to the resentmentof the royal court and in particular thenephews of King Aegeus.These nephews were an unpleasant bunchwho spent their time fighting in the streetsand lounging around the palace. Now, jealousof the success of Androgeus, they layin ambush one evening after the games hadended and fell on him as he walked hometo his lodgings. Androgeus fought bravelybut he was heavily outnumbered. The gangkilled him and left his body in the road.When Minos heard of this he was besidehimself with grief and rage. At once heordered his fleet to set sail, and the nextday, when King Aegeus awoke, he found thetown surrounded. Fighting was impossible.The Cretan army completely encircled thetown; and the fleet itself, anchored in theshallows just off the coast, was larger thanthe whole of Athens. Aegeus had no choice.Kneeling before Minos, he surrendered himselfand his town to the Cretan king's mercy.'I come in search of my son's assassins,'Minos said. 'Yield them to me and I will leaveyou unharmed.''I can't do that,' King Aegeus replied. 'I'msorry, great king. It was a miserable deedand I would gladly give you the killersif I knew who they were. But I don't! Thecowards remain hidden. And so we must allsuffer for their crime.''And suffer you will,' Minos said. Hethought for a moment, then came to aterrible decision. 'This is my decree,' he continued.'I have lost a son. The sons and thedaughters of Athens will have to pay theprice. At the end of every Great Year, whichis to say, every seven years, you will sendme your seven bravest young men and yourseven most beautiful maidens. Do not askwhat will happen to them! All that matters isthat you will never see them again.'This will be your tribute to me for thedeath of my eldest child. Fail, and Athenswill burn.'There was nothing King Aegeus could do.Every seven years, the fourteen Athenianswere chosen by lottery and taken away byship to Crete and an unknown death. And inCrete, while the colourful throng jostled inthe streets, the Minotaur stalked its victimsthrough the subterranean maze and killedthem to satisfy its lust for blood.